As much as I avoided thinking about it and ignoring it, I realized it was time to visit the medic.

* * *

Located on the ground level of the castle, the infirmary treated all the castle inhabitants. Another station in the barracks cared for the soldiers unless the injury was too severe. Then the poor soul was transferred here. The main rectangular room contained two rows of beds along each long side. Lanterns blazed from hooks set into the walls. As I strode down the middle aisle, I nodded hello at the few recovering patients who met my gaze. A medic I didn’t recognize checked a man’s temperature.

The woman in charge of the infirmary, Medic Channa, also affectionately known as Medic Mommy, jumped to her feet when she spotted me heading toward her desk in the far back corner. An examination table waited in the opposite corner. A white curtain hung from a track so it could be pulled around the table to ensure privacy.

A mixture of surprise and concern creased her long, thin face. “The gossips reported you’d arrived last night, but I didn’t think I’d see you so soon.”

I laughed at the implication that it was only a matter of time before I showed up on her examination table. When I visited Ixia, I avoided using magic to heal the cuts and bruises obtained when practicing with Ari, Janco and Maren. Having a wound magically disappear made the Ixians uneasy, and it gave Janco the creeps.

She tucked her short hair behind her ears. “What can I help you with?”

Scanning the beds nearby, I lowered my voice. “Is there somewhere we can talk without being overheard?”

“Yes. My office.”

“But...” I gestured toward her desk.

“That’s just so I can do paperwork while on duty.”

Channa grabbed the lantern on her desk and escorted me from the infirmary. Halfway down the hallway, she stopped and unlocked a door on the left. We entered a small space crammed with instruments, books and a couple chairs. A desk was buried under the piles. She set the lantern on top of a crate.

Clearing a stack of papers from the one chair, she said, “I’m not in here that much. It’s more of a storage space.” She sat down. “Now, what’s going on?”

I perched on the edge of the seat. “You keep your patients’ medical information confidential, right?”

“Of course. I only report cases that involve a crime. But you already know that.” She studied my face. “Are you worried I’ll tell people you’re pregnant?”

Jerking as if she’d struck me, I said, “What... How... I’m not even sure!”

Channa took my hand in hers. “I’ve birthed all the babies born in the castle complex, Yelena. It’s not hard for me to spot the signs.”

“But I’ve been traveling. And been the target of two assassins. I haven’t gotten much sleep. It could be stress.”

“It’s possible,” she agreed, keeping her professional demeanor, even though she was probably lying to me. “If you wish, I can test your blood. The results will remove all uncertainty. Of course, time will also do the same.”

I hesitated.

“It’s best to know. This way you can take proper care of yourself, ensuring your baby will also be healthy.”

And there was the Medic Mommy we all loved, laying on the guilt. I allowed her to prick my finger and collect a few drops of blood in a glass vial. She added a yellow powder and mixed the contents.

“It’ll take about ten minutes, then we’ll check to see if it turns blue.”

“Blue for boy?”

“No. Blue for positive,” she said, placing the vial inside a drawer and closing it. “Light affects the results.” Channa relaxed back in her chair. “Two assassins? Isn’t that overkill, even for you?”

Nice. “If you’re trying to distract me, it won’t work. Besides, those assassins are the reason why I can’t be pregnant. It’s too dangerous.”

“Valek’s your heart mate. There will never be a time that isn’t risky.”

“Exactly my point.”

“Don’t you want to have children?”

Annoyed, I clamped down on my first response—it’s none of your business. But considering the reason I was here... “I do, but not now. And before you give me a lecture on how I should have avoided it, I was shot with an arrow containing starlight. Except I didn’t know it was starlight at the time.”

“Oh my.” She tapped her foot. “I thought I’d heard every excuse, but that’s a new one.”

Lovely.

“If you really don’t want the baby, there are—”

“No.” The word erupted from my throat before my mind even processed it. “I can’t do that. Others can make that choice, but...” I recoiled from the thought. In fact, the entire conversation was uncomfortable, so I changed the subject. “When did you hear I was in Ixia?”

“My assistant told me this morning. He learned from the kitchen staff that Valek asked them to make you sweet cakes.”

The gossips worked faster than Valek’s intelligence network. I remembered how they had bet money on how long it would take me to be captured while I participated in the Commander’s fugitive exercise. Rand, the head chef at the time, had explained it to me: Gambling and gossiping is all we servants do.

Perhaps it might work in my favor for once. “Has the staff been talking about the Commander’s new guests?”

“Oh yes. They’re all abuzz about them.”